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Klassics for Kids

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Martine with One of Many Classic Chevies

We hadn’t been to a car show for several months, so when Martine handed me a flier for the Klassics for Kids Benefit Car Show sponsored by the Calas Park Volunteer Association in Carson, I jumped at the chance. It was a cloudy and muggy day (another of those Mexican monsoons), but it was an interesting event.

For one thing, Martine and I were probably the only gringos in attendance. No matter: It was a neighborhood event, and the people in attendance were super friendly.

Neighborhood Girls at the Klassics for Kids Car Show

Most of the cars being exhibited were souped-up classic Chevrolets, many of which were purchased from Giant Felix Chevrolet on Figueroa in Downtown Los Angeles. There were the usual hot rod modifications, including hydraulics, chain link steering wheels, and numerous artistic modifications. This is only the second show we have attended that concentrated on Hispanic car culture. It was an interesting experience.

Side View Mirror Art (with Martine’s Straw Hat)

Afterwords, Martine and I stopped at a Jollibee Foods Restaurant on Carson Boulevard. It was another cultural experience, this time of a culinary nature. Jollibee’s is a Filipino chain which is expanding rapidly in the United States. Based on the quality of their burgers and their chicken, I think they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams. I first encountered them at the food court of the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu. I didn’t sample their food then, but was curious at the loyalty of their customer base and the long lines at their restaurant.

In Praise of Tacos

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Tacos al Pastor from King Tacos

Tacos come in two basic varieties. There are the hard shell tacos which disintegrate the moment you put your hands on them; and there are the soft shell tacos, usually made with corn tortillas, which you can pinch without having a mess in your lap. I suppose there are soft shell flour tortillas in places like Northwest Mexico, but they are infrequently found across el border.

Today I drove Martine to Lakewood for an appointment with her ophthalmologist. On the way, I noticed there was a King Tacos on Lakewood Boulevard just south of Alondra, and a light suddenly went on in my memory. About twenty or thirty years ago, I attended an L.A. Galaxy professional soccer game at the Rose Bowl. While there, I bought several tacos from the concessionaire, who was King Tacos. I remember really liking them, but I had not been to any of the low rent parts of town where branches of King Tacos tend to congregate … until today.

I had three tacos el pastor with a Diet Pepsi, which I enjoyed mightily. There is something about Mexican antojitos (“little whimsies”) which help make Mexican cuisine one of the great world cuisines—and that’s before even figuring in some regional variants as Oaxácan and Yucatec cuisines.

I shall make it a point to return to King Tacos again. Still great after so many years!

East Los

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Mural on East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue

Drive East across the bridge over the concrete-walled Los Angeles River and you will find yourself in a reasonable simulacrum of a Mexican city. Boyle Heights used to be the city’s Jewish neighborhood, and there is the massive Breed Street Shul still remaining. If you have a hankering for some tacos muy sabrosos, you are in the right place.

East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue is the heart of “East Los,” short for East Los Angeles. Of course, over time, the Mexican population has scattered all over the county, but there are still some special places around the Avenue. Like La Parrilla, at Chavez and Detroit, probably my favorite Mexican restaurant in Southern California. Like the Anthony Quinn Library (I’ll bet you didn’t know that Quinn was Mexican). Like ELAC, East Los Angeles College, with some 35,000 students.

We tend to treat American Hispanics as if they were a cohesive voting bloc. The 2020 election gave the lie to the Democrat assumption that Hispanic voters were all for Biden. Not so. Their votes were all over the place. I learned that when I fell for a Chilean cutie named Valentina Palacios back in the 1970s, only to find that she was a supporter of tyrannical dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte.

And what is a Hispanic anyway? They could include Mexicans, Cubans, Spanish, South Americans, Central Americans, Puerto Ricans, and even some Filipinos. I remember being in an anti-Viet Nam war demonstration back in the 1960s and being attacked by rightist anti-Castro Cuban immigrants. We have to get used to seeing the Hispanic population as a broad spectrum.

And whatever we do, me must stop using terms like LatinX, which leaves a stench in the nostrils of most Hispanics.